Four Things Great Leaders Do Differently
How to be a Leader that People Want to Work For
More than 60 years ago, Theodore Levitt said that companies often fail because they focus so narrowly on their products and services that they neglect the bigger picture: what customers actually want. I tend to think that managers fail from a similar affliction. They focus so much on the work of the organization that they lose sight of what their employees actually want in a boss.
“Trust is the glue of life,” wrote Stephen Covey. It’s what drives our relationships and our ability to collaborate with others. And it’s an absolute necessity for leadership. We can’t successfully influence without the trust of our people. It just doesn’t happen.
Think of the people you consider to be leaders. What criteria comes to mind?
I doubt that it’s based on a title or position. It’s probably not tied to a specific skill or experience. And I’m guessing that the number of emails someone answers or meetings someone attends doesn’t have much of an impact.
The biggest question is one of trust. Do you trust this person? Do you trust her to help you succeed? Do you trust him to help you achieve something more than you could on your own?
“Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest,” said Seth…
